In the Spring of 2018, Lee Ridley was already a popular figure on the comedy circuit. But when he won Britain’s Got Talent in June, Lost Voice Guy suddenly became a name everyone was shouting about. Winning a TV talent contest can take an act onto a whole new level of fame with doors opening more readily than they might have done before.

As he takes to the nation’s stages with a touring show entitled ‘I’m Only In It For The Parking’ – which brings him to The Deco Theatre this Saturday (February 9th) – the County Durham-born Lee found that this was no more truer than in his case .

“The main reason I decided to audition for Britain’s Got Talent was obviously to meet Ant and Dec,” he half-jests. “But I also did it because I thought it would help me develop as a performer. Of course, I never expected to win it. In fact, I had to cancel my summer holiday because it clashed with the final!

“It was definitely worth it though; I think the look on my face when I won said it all. Winning the show has changed my life in so many ways, and as a comedian, I’m busier than I ever was before.

“One of the best things to happen since I won is that people are engaging with me a lot more than they would have in the past,” said Lee. “For the first time they seem comfortable talking to a disabled person. I’m used to being stared at for negative reasons so it’s nice to be stared at for positive reasons for a change.”

While Lee has plenty to say about those who have bigoted opinions about disabled people, he’s just as tough on those who are either patronising or overly keen to elevate the disabled into saints simply for being able to achieve something.

And all of it is done in the most non-Geordie accent you can imagine, all plummy, middle England and computerised, with the voiceless Lee communicating through an iPad app. But why did he pick that particular voice to express his comedy with?

“To be honest, I didn’t have much choice – the app I use to speak only had a limited number of voices to choose from, and my particular voice was the best of a bad bunch,” he said. “I’m quite used to sounding like a posh version of RoboCop now though, and I think the posh accent makes my jokes even funnier. I’ve sounded like this for most of my life now, so I do think of it as being my own voice. I think I’d feel weird if I had to change it now.”

Having started performing comedy in 2012, Lee won the BBC Radio New Comedy Award in 2014 and has created hour-long shows for the Edinburgh Fringe such as Disability For Dunces, Inspiration Porn and Laughter Is The Worst Medicine. He’s also co-written and starred in Ability, a Radio 4 sitcom about a man with cerebral palsy who moves out of his parents’ home, and penned a book which shares the title of this new touring show.

But with all that success on his CV already, where does he see his career going now? “I honestly don’t have any big ambitions. When I first started stand-up comedy, I just thought I’d try it for a bit of fun.

“I never expected to be this successful in my wildest dreams. So, I’m just taking it all as it comes and seeing what might happen next. I’m enjoying the ride and that’s the most important thing.”

Being on tour is something of a ride for any comedian, but for Lee, that adventure has extra obstacles and barriers inherently built into it. However, he is determined to make the most of these opportunities. “I think the best thing about being on tour is getting to see some really lovely places that maybe I wouldn’t have ever visited otherwise, and then getting to meet people from all different walks of life.

“I’ve got a lot of fans based all over the place so it’s nice to be able to get to meet them. One of the worst things is definitely being away from home. I quite like my home comforts such as my bed and being able to sit in my pants and watch television all day. So I miss that when I’m away.”

Audiences, of course, come in all different shapes and sizes, and life on the road wouldn’t be the same without some odd incidents occurring along the way. “You would be surprised at how many people come up to me after gigs and ask if I really can’t speak. Because, of course, it would totally be acceptable to pretend to be disabled for a laugh. I can safely say that I have never been able to talk. I have lived in Newcastle all my life, but for some reason I still haven’t picked up the accent. However, if you are trying to place my accent, it’s from PC World.”

Truth plays a major part in Lee’s comedy and he is often calling out politicians as well as the general public for their negative or dishonest approach to disability. The upside is that he’s rarely short of stories and anecdotes. One instance where he was ordered by a train inspector to give up his disabled seat for someone else inspired his episode on the Sky Arts Comedy Shorts series last year.

“I think most of my comedy comes from my real-life experiences. On the one hand, that’s quite frightening because some of it is unbelievably ridiculous. But on the other hand, it gives me some great material. I’d be silly not to use these experiences, and if I didn’t laugh about it then I’d most definitely cry!”

As the nation is about to find out, it’s not just Lee who’s laughing when his Lost Voice Guy airs his opinions.

It was a cult novel, one of the iconic films of the 1960s, and more recently it has become an acclaimed stage play.

And ‘The Graduate’ – made famous by the film starring Ann Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman in 1967, and featuring the Simon and Garfunkel hit song ‘Mrs Robinson’ – is being performed on stage at Northampton’s Deco Theatre this May.

The theatre is teaming up with the award-winning White Cobra Productions, with three performances between Thursday, May 16th, to Saturday, May 18th.

“White Cobra did some outstanding productions at The Deco last year, and we are delighted to welcome them back,” said Jill Roach, House Manager of the Deco Theatre. “Having loved the film, I’m really excited about seeing The Graduate performed on stage, and I have no doubt that White Cobra will deliver another top class production for our audiences.”

Set in California in the 1960s, Benjamin Braddock is a confused young man. Having just graduated, he finds himself uncertain about his future, disconnected from his purpose, and increasingly alienated from the upper-class, suburban, “plastic” world of his parents.

Fighting panic and boredom, he is deeply conflicted but ultimately willing when Mrs. Robinson, the unhappily married, alcoholic, and charismatic wife of his father’s business partner, lures him into an affair. But Benjamin’s life becomes complicated when he falls in love with Elaine, Mrs Robinson’s upbeat daughter.

The stage adaptation of The Graduateis a dark comedy, full of rapid-fire dialogue between fascinating and horrifying characters, while exploring family dysfunction, parental expectations, crumbling marriages, and the naive, yet disillusioned, dichotomy of youth.

“As well as being a great film, The Graduate lends itself brilliantly to the stage,” said Richard Jordan, of White Cobra Productions. “It’s up there with other movies which have worked so well as theatre pieces, such as The Full Monty and Billy Elliott, and we can’t wait to bring it to the Deco stage in Northampton.”

Northampton’s award-winning Elvis Presley tribute performer Simon Patrick is coming home to put on a show in his home town.

He’s performing at The Deco Theatre in Abington Square on Saturday, January 26th, and to add the rock and roll theme of the evening, he is being supported by tribute artists to Billy Fury and Shakin’ Stevens, along with The Viva Las Vegas showband, and backing singers.

“It’s always great to come home, and The Deco’s an amazing venue, I’m really excited to be performing there” said Simon. “It’s going to be an amazing evening performing as ‘the King’ live in concert, with awesome support in Johnny Red as Billy Fury and Dean Ryan as Shakin’ Stevens, and there’ll be a fantastic atmosphere, so come join the party!”

Simon, and Elvis fan since he was four years old, has been performing tribute shows to his hero for over 20 years. Back in 2007 he was the winner of Great Britain’s Best Elvis Tribute Artists, won the ‘Elvis European Championship’ three years later, and has been a finalist in the ‘Ultimate Elvis Competition’, staged in Memphis, USA.

Said Jill Roach, house manager at The Deco: “We’re absolutely delighted to be hosting Simon at The Deco, his show’s are amazing, and he very much justifies his reputation as one of the best Elvis tribute shows in Europe, let alone the UK.

“It’s a fantastic night out, and if you love Elvis, and a rock n roll night out, you’ll go a long way to beating this.”

For tickets, go to www.thedeco.co.uk, call the Box Office on 01604 491005, or pop by at The Deco, in Abington Square, Northampton, between 10am and 4pm Monday to Saturday.

Singer Lydia Lucy is back at The Deco this Christmas, which is great news for everyone who’ve told us how much they enjoyed her Panto performances in Peter Pan last year, and Beauty and the Beast in 2015. And despite a busy schedule, Lydia had no hesitation, she tells us, in accepting the invitation to play Cinderella this Christmas.

Actually, to describe Lydia’s schedule as ‘busy’ is to grossly under-estimate it. Perhaps ‘manic’ is more appropriate, or even ‘non-stop’. The bottom line is this: Lydia works incredibly hard; and such is her flourishing career as a singer and performer, her workload as taken her to many parts of the world this year, as well as all over the UK.

So, by her own admission, appearing in Panto in Northampton throughout December is rare stability. And anyway, she loves being at The Deco. “I really do,” she says. “It’s a wonderful family atmosphere: I love the team behind the scenes who work so hard, and are always so helpful and obliging, I love working with the cast – some familiar faces, but those I hadn’t met before are fab – and the audiences at Deco Pantos are always so much fun, and fantastic to perform to.”

It was after her first Deco Panto appearance in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ that Lydia went off to compete in the TV talent show ‘The Voice’, where she made it through to the Grand Final, and finished third. She made such a big impression to so many, that she has barely had a day off since!

And though she can’t give too much away at the moment, she is already excited about what 2019 holds, with exciting opportunities about to come her way.

“I’d love to say more, but it’s all under wraps at the moment,” said Lydia. “Suffice to say I’m excited, but then I’m very lucky, because I’m doing what I love: singing and performing; it’s so busy, it’s crazy at times, but always great fun.

“But doing Panto is great fun too, and crazy in a different way, because we all have so much fun on and off stage.

“And what’s more, we’ve got another fantastic show lined up, with a great cast, and yet again, an amazingly talented team of young local performers and dancers supporting us, so it’s all very exciting.”

‘Cinderella’ is at The Deco Theatre, Abington Square, from December 7 to 29. For tickets, www.thedeco.co.uk, call the Box Office on 01604 491005, or call by in person between 10am and 4pm, Monday to Saturday.

A feast of laughter is lined up at the Deco for the new year, headlined by Lost Voice Guy, Lee Ridley, but also bringing to Northampton two of the most highly rated acts on the stand-up comedy circuit, Sean McLaughlin and Ahir Shah.

The 2018 ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ winner Lee Ridley takes to The Deco stage on Saturday Feb 9th, having won rave reviews for his appearance at the recent Royal Variety Performance, which you can see on ITV, on December 11th.

Following Ridley to The Deco five weeks later is rising star of the comedy circuit Ahir Shah, on Friday, March 15th. He is bringing his show ‘Duffer’ to Northampton, which has already started its UK tour, following its critically acclaimed sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe early this year, earning him a second nomination in a row for Best Show, at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards.

Ahir has won many plaudits for his stand-up comedy, including this recently from the Daily Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comedy/what-to-see/one-generations-eloquent-comic-voices-ahir-shah-control-edinburgh/

And completing a trio of great stand-ups at The Deco is Sean McLoughlin, who comes to Northampton on April 5th. Fresh from opening for Ricky Gervais on tour, McLoughlin – described as “the best comedian you haven’t heard of yet” by Time Out magazine – is taking his acclaimed, smash hit show, Hail Mary, on the road.

As well as providing tour support for Gervais’ record-breaking international ‘Humanity’ tour, McLoughlin was also handpicked to open for Bill Burr at the Royal Albert Hall recently, and for the legendary Doug Stanhope.

He has also made appearances on Stand-Up Central, Comedy Central At The Comedy Store, and his talents have landed him a Chortle Award nomination, and a review by Beyond The Joke as “…the epitome of the skilful stand-up…”

Said Jill Roach, House Manager at The Deco Theatre: “There’s a great appetite for good stand-up comedy in Northampton, and we’re are delighted to be bringing some of the country’s best performers to town, as we did recently with Lauren Pattison, who was fantastic.”

For tickets and more information about all three shows, go to www.thedeco.co.uk, or call our Box Office on 01604 491005

He’s Bright. He’s Buttons. And he’s back in Northampton this Christmas.

He’s Lee Bright. Bright by name, and bright by nature; you can guarantee he will be a bundle of energy and fun during The Deco Theatre’s run of its Christmas Panto, ‘Cinderella’, this December.

This will be Lee’s 15th successive year of doing Panto, and ‘Buttons’ is among his favourite roles. He is back at The Deco after four years, and cannot wait to get started.

“I was in Wizard of Oz in 2014; I loved being at The Deco, and returning for the official photo-shoot was just like coming home,” said Lee, who played Aladdin in Bognor Regis last year. “The team behind the scenes are all so lovely.

“But not only that, they are very professional and extremely well organised, they work so hard to put on a fantastic Panto every Christmas, and judging by all the wonderful reviews over the years, they do that very well.”

As a performer, Lee has worked all over the UK, including London’s West End, but says Panto is ‘without doubt’ his favourite time of the year.

“Christmas is magical, and going to a Panto is a wonderful experience for families,” he said. “As I kid I loved it, and as a performer I love making the experience as special now as it was for me way back when.”

And Lee will be hoping The Deco audience love Buttons this Christmas. He said: “Buttons is actually quite a challenging role – you want the audience to love him, but you don’t want to over-shadow the Prince, so it’s a fine line, but all part of the fun.”

Chris Wills is playing the Prince this Christmas, starring alongside Lee, Lydia Lucy, Colin Ridgewell, Sammy Webb, Fern Roach and Clive Fletcher, supported, as usual, by an awesome cast of young dancers.

Said Lee: “It’s a fantastic cast of talented people, who are all very easy to get along with, and I’m looking forward to working with them in December. For me, great Panto is a perfect blend of all the elements: a dame, good voices, choreography, and bringing everyone together to work as a team.

“We have all that and more, including not just one, but two fantastic dames in Colin and Sammy, we all know that Lydia has an awesome singing voice, and once again The Deco has put together another talented cast.”

“The audiences are terrific at The Deco, and we really appreciate that people choose our Panto to come and see, which is another reason why it is so important to make sure they go away having had a magical time.”

Away from performing, Lee teaches others to follow in his footsteps through his business Bright-Starz, which he runs from his home town, Chesham. “I teach singing and acting on a one-to-one basis, and I also teach audition techniques, which is something that too often gets overlooked.

“I’ve done plenty of auditions myself in the past, and I’ve also sat on panels watching and judging auditions, so I’ve seen it all,” said Lee.

And though he loves teaching, he still loves being on stage himself just as much. Especially doing Panto’s at Christmas, which is great news for The Deco. We have no doubt the audiences will love Lee in ‘Cinderella’ as they did in ‘Wizard of Oz’ four years ago.

And one thing is for sure: there’ll never be a dull moment with Lee about!

Comedy, Panto, tributes, nostalgia, a traditional Irish knees-up, and some more Forbidden Nights – The Deco Theatre already has a packed programme of top class entertainment lined up for 2019, with lots more to follow.

The comedy comes from the fantastic Lost Voice Guy, otherwise known as Lee Ridley, who wowed the nation earlier this year when he was an extremely popular winner of the ITV talent show ‘Britain’s Got Talent’.

Lee brings his touring show – described by critics as “laugh-out loud funny” – to The Deco on Saturday, February 9, one of two great shows that month. A week before, on February 2, The Deco goes all nostalgic for the music of the 1980s, with the hit-show ‘80’s Mania’, that is stopping off in Northampton during a UK tour earning much acclaim.

Another acclaimed kicks off the New Year programme at The Deco, with a celebration of legendary singer Whitney Houston, in the acclaimed show ‘Whitney, Queen of the Night’ on Saturday, January 19; a stunning production that has earned standing ovations wherever it has played, and does total justice to the late, great singer.

In March another singing legend is celebrated at The Deco – The Girl From Tiger Bay, on Friday, March 22nd, is an awesome, and fitting tribute to the great Dame Shirley Bassey. Joanne Copeland has been performing as Dame Shirley since 2002, and has so far taken her show to 25 countries, and her show takes you on a journey through 65 years of Shirley Bassey’s amazing career.

There are two more fantastic tribute nights in April, honouring the music of Madonna on Friday, April 19 in the show ‘Material Girl’, then celebrating the rhythm and blues legend Luther Vandross a week later, on April 26 in the touring show ‘Luther’.

Returning to The Deco by popular demand on March 1 is Forbidden Nights, a show that always attracts 5-star ratings, and which has twice played out to packed houses during previous visits to the Northampton theatre.

Also in March, a great Irish party on Friday the 29th – yet another highly acclaimed production comes to The Deco, with ‘Seven Drunken Nights – the story of The Dubliners’. This is another show that has thrilled audiences nationwide, including London’s West End, and is guaranteed to be an awesome knees-up for all.

And completing a fantastic first four months of 2019 is The Deco’s Easter Panto Spectacular, Beauty and the Beast, over two days on April 10th and 11th. This is the fourth year The Deco team have put on a Spring Panto, which has proved highly popular with local families looking for Easter entertainment.

For details about all Deco shows, visit the website at www.thedeco.co.uk, or call 01604 491005.

For the girls of the Welland Valley Under 13s football team, it was a pre-season friendly with a difference!

Indeed, they had quite a shock when they turned up for a run-out, in preparation for their new league season, which begins next month (September). Because facing them across the other side of the pitch was the cast of The Deco Theatre’s Christmas Panto, ‘Cinderella’.

There was Cinderella herself, who fancied herself as a useful striker, though Lydia Lucy admitted later she much preferred singing to playing football. Buttons and Prince Charming took it all very seriously, while the two Panto Dames – Sam and Chris – almost gave the impression they might have played the game before!

And by the time the girls – who play in the Northamptonshire Womens’ and Girls’ Macron Football League – had come to terms with who they were up against, they had conceded two goals!

But the result was academic. And for the record, it finished in a 2-2 draw. This was all in the name of fun. The Welland Valley girls won a Deco competition to feature in the promotion video for this year’s Panto, and the 7-a-side football match will be the main feature of the film.

“It was fantastic fun, and the girls loved every minute of it,” said Welland Valley coach Rob Golding. “We were absolutely thrilled to be chosen to appear in the video, the cast were all a pleasure to be with, and we’re all really looking forward to meeting up again with them in December when we go to see the Panto.”

After Buttons and Dame Sam gave the Panto cast a first half lead, Welland Valley fought back in the second. Molly Jones scored a penalty, but the girls were still heading for defeat until Dame Sam scored a dramatic own goal in the last minute of the game.

“As a footballer I actually think Sammy Webb makes a great Panto Dame,” said Buttons, played by Lee Bright, and his team’s second goal scorer. “Fancy kicking the ball into the wrong goal – it was outrageous; we were playing to win!

“Actually, a draw was definitely a fair result, but most importantly we all had great fun, we were made extremely welcome by everyone at Welland Valley, and we wish them all the very best for their new season.”

‘Cinderella’ at The Deco, runs from December 7th to 29th. For tickets, which start from just £10, go to www.thedeco.co.uk, or call the Box Office on 01604 491005

The Deco is a magnificently restored 1930s cinema located in the heart of Northampton offering a variety of affordable meeting rooms and functions for corporate, social and theatrical events.

Supervised by English Heritage, the multi-million pound restoration has combined the original, stunning art deco styling with state-of-the-art technology. The 900 seat Auditorium in conjunction with The Doré and The Glen suites make this unique facility both flexible and practical.

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